CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 2015--
OvaScienceSM (NASDAQ: OVAS), a global fertility company
focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of new
treatment options, announced today that the AUGMENTSM
fertility treatment will be introduced to patients at IVI Valencia, a
clinic within the IVI Group of 38 in vitro fertilization (IVF)
clinics spanning nine countries in Europe, North America, South America
and Asia. The AUGMENT treatment is not available in the United States.
“We were pleased to hear from experts at other IVF clinics how the
AUGMENT treatment has helped improve success rates in women with very
poor prognoses, with an impressive number of ongoing pregnancies,” said
Antonio Pellicer, M.D., Ph.D., President of the IVI Group. “We look
forward to exploring how the AUGMENT treatment can assist us in
achieving more pregnancies for the thousands of women and couples who
visit our extensive IVF clinic network each year.”
The IVI Group was founded in Spain as the first medical institution
specializing entirely in human reproduction and has grown to become a
globally preeminent IVF institution. As a pioneer in new fertility
techniques and treatments, more than 100,000 babies have been born with
the help of the IVI Group, which performs more than 23,000 IVF cycles
annually.
“Our partnership with the IVI Group, the largest clinic network in
reproductive medicine, is a major step forward in bringing our AUGMENT
treatment to as many women as possible,” said Michelle Dipp, M.D.,
Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of OvaScience. “Babies have now been born
to women using our AUGMENT treatment at all of the IVF clinics that
currently offer it. We eagerly await the births of more healthy babies
this year.”
The IVI clinic in Valencia will be the first in the IVI Group to
participate in the AUGMENT preceptorship program, which is designed to
obtain patient experience and training before making it commercially
available. The AUGMENT treatment was introduced using this approach in
IVF clinics in other regions. The AUGMENT treatment will be studied
versus standard IVF per approval of La Comisión Nacional de Reproducción
Humana (CNRHA).
About the AUGMENTSM Treatment
The AUGMENT treatment is the first fertility treatment available to
patients based on OvaScience’s proprietary egg precursor (EggPCSM)
cell technology. The AUGMENT treatment is designed to improve the health
of a woman’s existing eggs and enhance the IVF procedure. The AUGMENT
treatment uses energy-producing mitochondria from a woman’s own EggPC
cells, which are immature egg cells found in the protective lining of
the ovaries, to supplement the existing mitochondria in her eggs. This
treatment is designed to improve egg health by increasing the eggs’
energy levels for embryo development. Egg health is a key factor in IVF
success. The AUGMENT treatment is available in select international IVF
clinics, and initial positive clinical experiences of pregnancies with
the treatment have been reported. The AUGMENT treatment is not available
in the United States. For more information, please visit www.augmenttreatment.com.
About the IVI Group
Each year around 5,000 couples from 80 countries visit IVI clinics with
more than 23,000 IVF cycles performed annually. IVI clinics can be found
in Spain, Panama, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Portugal. Since
2012, the IVI Group has had an alliance with NOVA clinics in India,
which has given rise to NOVA IVI Fertility. For more information about
the IVI Group, visit https://www.ivi-fertility.com.
About OvaScience
OvaScience (NASDAQ: OVAS) is a global fertility company dedicated to
improving treatment options for women around the world. OvaScience is
discovering, developing and commercializing new fertility treatments
because we believe women deserve more options. Each OvaScience treatment
is based on the Company’s proprietary technology platform that leverages
the breakthrough discovery of egg precursor (EggPCSM) cells –
immature egg cells found inside the protective ovarian lining. The
AUGMENTSM treatment, a fertility option specifically designed
to improve egg health, is available in certain IVF clinics in select
international regions outside of the United States. OvaScience is
developing the OvaPrimeSM treatment, which could increase a
woman’s egg reserve, and the OvaTureSM treatment, a potential
next-generation IVF treatment that could help a woman produce healthy,
young, fertilizable eggs without hormone injections. For more
information, please visit www.ovascience.com
and connect with us on Twitter
and Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements about the
Company’s business and development plans for the AUGMENT treatment and
its two fertility treatments in development, including statements
relating to the introduction of the AUGMENT treatment to patients of the
IVI Group. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by
these forward-looking statements as a result of various important
factors, including risks related to: the possibility that international
IVF clinics that we work with may determine not to begin or continue
providing the AUGMENT treatment for commercial or other reasons; our
expectation that the AUGMENT treatment and OvaPrime treatment meet the
requirements of a class of products exempt from premarket review and
approval under applicable regulations in those countries where we have
launched or plan to introduce the AUGMENT treatment and plan to
introduce the OvaPrime treatment; the science underlying our treatment
and treatments in development (including the AUGMENT, OvaPrime and
OvaTure treatments), which is unproven; our ability to obtain regulatory
approval where necessary for our potential treatments; our ability to
develop our potential treatments, including the OvaPrime and OvaTure
treatments, on the timelines we expect, if at all; our ability to
commercialize the AUGMENT treatment and our potential treatments,
including the OvaPrime treatment, on the timelines we expect, if at all;
as well as those risks more fully discussed in the “Risk Factors”
section of our most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and/or
Annual Report on Form 10-K. The forward-looking statements
contained in this press release reflect our current views with respect
to future events. We anticipate that subsequent events and
developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect
to update these forward-looking statements in the future, we
specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking
statements should not be relied upon as representing our view as of any
date subsequent to the date hereof.
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View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150806005230/en/
Source: OvaScience
OvaScience
Investors
Theresa McNeely, 617-299-7356
EVP,
Chief Communications Officer
tmcneely@ovascience.com
or
Media
Cara
Mayfield, 617-714-9638
Director, Corporate Communications
cmayfield@ovascience.com
